Chapter 4

Edward remained silent, so Cameron intervened, raising her voice, "You got that right! Your sister deserves to inherit your things because she's your family. Just think of it as a wedding gift from you to her."

I smiled sweetly and replied, "Wait! There's one more thing to add to this gift!"

"Oh yeah?"

"That's right. A nice, expensive coffin in the middle of the altar too!" I chirped.

Her face turned blue. "You bitch!"

"Come on, it's a pragmatic gift. She's going to need it pretty soon anyway! I'm just giving it to her in advance so you guys don't have to spend money on it someday."

They scowled at me but couldn't say anything. It was just like how I had gotten away with the sparkler candle incident before. They couldn't do anything to me.

None of these people had stood up for me when I was bullied all these years, so it was high time I made them suffer my worst!

Cameron pointed at the door in a rage. "Get the hell out of here!"

She pointed at my dipshit father too. "Are you going to do anything about this? This girl you made with that other woman has been insulting and cursing my daughter since she showed up, and you're not going to do anything about it?!"

Harry stormed toward me before Cameron had even finished.

Edward tensed and stepped in his way.

"Mr. Jones, let's not go there," he warned.

Harry's path was blocked, but he still managed to point his finger at me. "Apologize to your sister now!"

There was no way I would agree to that!

"Did I say anything wrong? I was being pragma—"

He suddenly raised his hand and swung toward my cheek.

Edward stepped in front of me and took the blow on his head.

Maddison cried out, "Dad!"

Edward blinked, as though reeling from the impact, but still didn't step away. "Physical violence won't solve anything, Mr. Jones.

"No matter how you look at it, a lot of this was my fault for not calming Taylor down. Give me time—I’ll fix this."

Harry's face was already red from both rage and exertion. He was sick with several diseases, including diabetes. Frankly, all this emotional arousal was not doing him any good. He was practically panting.

"You… Go talk to her… If she's still acting this way… I'll break her bones!" he threatened between breaths.

Edward nodded, looked at me, and said quietly, "Let's go somewhere else to talk."

"No! I'm not interested in talking to you!"

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. "Acting this way isn't going to fix any problem, Taylor. We're a family. Nothing is unsolvable in a family."

A family?!

Disgust spread over me.

"You people don't deserve to be my family!" I snapped, raising my hand. "Now let go!"

"We should talk."

I slapped my hand across his cheek in frustration. "I said let go!"

The room was stunned.

"What did you do?!" Maddison cried out. "How could you hit him like this?! If you're upset, do it to me! Not to him!"

"How could I? He's a two-timing bastard. That's reason enough," I replied with a smile. "As for you? I don't want to dirty my hands. You're going to die anyway."

I ignored the angry contortions on their faces and left the room.

-

I spent a long while sitting in my car, staring into space, until I finally calmed down.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself to have these people as my family. I had thought I could walk out of this trauma and be healed through Edward—because he was someone I loved.

Who would have thought he would be the one to deal the biggest blow?

Just thinking about how many sacrifices I had made to nurse him to health all these years, only to be repaid with this… I felt as though the knife in my heart was twisted.

My phone rang, shaking me out of my stupor.

It was my best friend, Jean Valentine.

"Tell me, Mrs. Kennedy! Did you forget we have a date today, hmm? Don't tell me you're picking up from under him right now, girl!" Jean quipped innocently.

She didn't know what I'd been through.

I frowned. Right. We were supposed to have lunch together to discuss our plan for the wedding rehearsal. "I'll be there in a while."

The rehearsal no longer mattered. The point was to tell her what happened.

-

Jean immediately noticed how badly I looked when I arrived at the restaurant.

"What's wrong? Did you have a fight with your family?" she asked worriedly. She knew all about it.

I evaded her question and stated, "The wedding's canceled, Jeannie."

She looked up in shock. "What? Is that a joke? The wedding's next week!"

I forced a smile numbly. "The more accurate way of phrasing it would be, 'The wedding's on, but I'm not the bride anymore.'"

She put down her drink, circled the table to where I was, and placed her hand on my forehead. "Are you high or delirious from fever?"

I pulled her down to the seat next to me, just in case my story would shock her into a slip. I told her everything as briefly as I could.

Her eyes were wide. "The hell?! Is Edward insane? Maddison is the biggest pick-me bitch this world has ever seen!

"How blind does a guy have to be to not know that?! Isn't he worried that changing his bride midway will turn him into an internet celebrity? Or is he dying to become a meme?!"

Jean was so angry that she didn't even realize how loud her voice was. Patrons from other tables began to look over as she fished for her phone.

She had a temper fiery enough to make mine seem mild in comparison. Naturally, she wasn't going to let this slide.

"That's it! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" she declared, waving her phone.

I was too tired to stop her. I just took a sip of my drink.

"Did Maddison perform a lobotomy on you, Edward?! So what if she's got cancer? Taylor has been with you for six years!

"Did you forget all the things she did to help you through your recovery?! She was your blood supply for years! If it weren't for her, you'd be just a gravestone, you dogshit!

"And since when did you become Maddison's lover boy, huh? Don't tell me she's charmed you in your pants already!

"I have never seen a fuckboy as shitty as you! You're the bottom of the goddamn barrel, you hear me?! And you're famous, too! People could easily make you go viral on the inter—"

Jean had been on her tirade for about five to six minutes when the waitress came over to advise her to be quieter.

I couldn't stand being embarrassed in public, so I snatched the phone and ended the call.

"What?! Give it back! I still have some business to discuss with that bitch herself!" she howled.

I pushed her drink toward her and patted her back. "Hey, let's not ruin other people's lunch, okay?"

Jean finally noticed the looks around us and reined in her temper.

"I don't get it. What's in his head? Does he love Maddison?" she asked, confused.

I shook my head. "God knows. But I know he doesn't love me."

"Maddie is certified nuts, man. She only wants anything you own or want! Is Edward really so stupid that he couldn't tell?!"

I smirked. "Nah. He thinks I'm being overdramatic about Maddie's issue."

Jean gulped down her drink. "Did he know who she really is? That she's your stepsister?"

"I don't know. I've never talked about it. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't."

It was an embarrassing side to the family.

I loved him, so I didn't want him to see how ugly the Jones family could be. I couldn't bear the thought of him betraying me and holding these secrets hostage to become a possibility.

"He doesn't know?" Jean snickered. "I can't wait for him to find out. The day he realizes just how rotten Maddie actually is… he will be begging on his knees before you."

I smiled silently. I didn't care if he would regret this. It had nothing to do with me.

"Don't worry, girl. In exchange, you get your entire company," Jean comforted me after we finished our lunch. "You can focus on your business instead of that trash!"

Her words reminded me that I still had legal issues to resolve.

"You're right. I shouldn't waste my time being sad over losing a piece of trash. Don't worry, Jeannie. I'm fine," I replied. "It's better to find out before I was conned into giving myself away to a man like that, right?"

I bade Jean farewell and told Edward to meet me in the afternoon. He agreed easily.

-

Edward's face still had a faint imprint of my hand on his cheek when I saw him. It looked comical on him.

"Be quick. We need to finish these legal procedures before we annul our marriage certificate," I snapped quietly as he shuffled his feet.

Our marriage certificate had only been a month old. Had I known this would happen, I wouldn't have wasted my time with an appointment on that day!

Edward looked at me sadly, his lips parted as though he had something to say.

Nothing came out.

We went straight to the City Clerk's Office after handling all the legal procedures regarding the company.

What I didn't expect was how many resources and documents one needed to prepare just to dissolve a civil union.

There was a 30-day buffer period too—the civil union would only be void if both sides agreed after that period.

It was frustrating. I tried to make an appointment for it but was told the earliest available time was half a month later.

What did that mean? It meant I would still be his civil partner when he and Maddison were married! What the hell?!

Edward could tell how bad my mood was.

"We don't have to rush this. Maddie isn't urging us either," he said softly.

I raised my head and flashed him a scowl. He was stunned.

Then, suddenly, I broke out in a smile. "Oh yeah? You're telling me she's not worried she might not live long enough to see the day we are officially 'divorced?'"

Edward froze. He had forgotten how difficult it was to dissolve a civil union. Even if Maddie married him in a ceremony, in the eyes of the law, she was as good as a mistress.

He ignored the question and leaned in gently. "Then maybe we shouldn't dissolve our civil union at all. That way, we wouldn't have to go through the trouble of marrying in the future."

I was bewildered. I couldn't believe him.

He still thought I would return to him after Maddison was dead!